This is a great device in my opinion. I've always been happy with the performance off of these. I personally own two of these. One I keep with my climbing gear for rappels and the other I keep with my Ski Patrol pack for any rescues or self evacs from broken lifts. The Super 8 has always performed well when I need it to and you can't beat the price either for a backup device.I notice that some people are complaining that the device is too warm, too fast, not good for belaying, or kinks the rope. I personally am a bigger guy and don't particularly notice it being to fast but I also like to go fast anyways. For the other complaints, those are inherent to 8s so I don't know why they are complaining. If you didn't want it to get so warm or to be better for belaying you would have/should have gone with an actual belay device. The 8 works well for what it was designed to do.

great price. If you sport rappel it is not very fast and a little small. all in all happy with product. I also use it to belay and it works great.

I have one of these that I inherited form my paps when he threw in the climbing towel. Admittedly I never use it belay, my Reverso3 gives me a lot more holding power with less effort. That said there is nothing like a super 8 for flying down a 90' wall on a single line rappel!

BD's website say's the strength is 15kN. I would look into an 8 from Omega Pacific or BlueWater. OP's 8 is 35kN with a weight of 105g. I can sacrifice an 18g difference for 20kN of strength.

From my experience, the Super 8 is a good backup like was stated, but it tends to get really hot in long rappels and even on belaying. A trick is to lead the rope through the carabineer to reduce friction. Overall it is pretty heavy to haul, and in my opinion, buying a second Black Diamond ATC-XP would be a better idea.

This thing works great once you get used to it. If you're using one to rappel for the first time, be prepared for it to be a lot faster than rappelling through an ATC. Kinda surprised me the first time, which isn't always the best feeling when you're hanging off a 100ft cliff.
But now I love it.

Rappel with ease & belay in a pinch. Rope glides easily through on rappels but consider other devices for belaying. A little too much twist for my liking.

I have used this as a backup belay device and a rappel device. It works good for rappels, but it does not have great friction for a heavier climber.

These are by far my favorite figure 8's to use. The clip in hole just seems to be the perfect size for my carabiners unlike some that I have bought and just dont seem to fit right or you have to angle the biner just right to hook in.

Good for rap, durable, and I honestly prefer this a little bit more than an ATC for rap. Having sais that, I would not use one of these for belay, except as a back-up measure. For belay, I always go with an ATC or a Grigri, but that is just personal preference. I always have at least one of these whenever I hit the rocks.

Cheap backup for an ATC. Kinks the rope pretty bad. Simple to use and worry free. Like I said its a good backup to carry with you.

some folks say that this fig 8 is slow... it's plenty fast if you're rappelling. I got down a 75 ft wall in NO time! maybe not the best tool for belay, but there are better belay devices out there.

It's not that there's anything wrong with it, but 8's are notorious for kinking the rope, getting and staying too hot, and general lack of control from not enough friction. They were a fantastic innovation 30 years ago, but now a normal tubular belay device (to use the non-brand-specific name) is better. Spend the money and get an ATC.

it's a good article, i am colombian and all articles that i used is black diamond, but in this store have a very nice price..

i really dig it. compared to the trango traditional 8, it does a smoother job. the more boxy design really lowers friction. not sure that angus is too far off, but i will contest they are a good traditional 8 compared to other brands. but sure, an ATC will be nicer.

8's are great for rappeling, and this one is good for that. If you climb and you're looking to rapp off routes with this guy, you might find that it twists your rope and gets super hot fast, and stays that way. I don't like that on my dynamic rope, though I think that would be less of an issue on a static rappel line. As far as belaying goes, I tried that once, but the device kept walking up the rope, making it hard and cumbersome to deal with. So, if you climb, get something else, specific to climbing.

I'm all for tubular belay devices for rappeling, in fact, my figure 8 spends most of climbing days in my pack, and I never use it for belaying. That said, sometimes figure 8's are kinda... fun... If you know what you're doing and have a leather glove on, you can zip down a rope on an 8 in no time! Also really cool to impress people that have never used one. Also fun to do "SWAT" or inverted rappels with a figure 8.

I like this because it is simple and easy, gives a nice smooth rapel.

its a good piece, very nice price, cheaper, if you will start you can start with it, it work very good, it getting and staying too hot after descending like any 8 piece, my instructor say that is preferable a Bigger 8 for the hot situation when rapel, but if you want sometings better, spend a little more for a ATC..
Sorry for my english, next time I will wrote just in spanish. hehe..

figure 8 works good but is a little slow